Environmental features and sense of safety

Abstract

This paper reports on a study that examined the degree environmental features contribute to a fear of crime among university students in a regional city context. It informs how environmental and social features jointly influenced a fear of crime in relation to the subjective experience of individuals' identifiable characteristics, which for this study, comprised of students with either domestic or international Asian status. The study utilised self-reporting walk and auto-photo elicitation to analyse feelings of safety at different sites across the Central Business District of Bendigo, Victoria. The findings indicate students are more likely to express higher levels of fear about crime in public places at night when the design of those areas provide for lower visibility, more spaces for concealment, and lower numbers of people in close proximity. © 2013 WIT Press.